Archival Toning Procedures

Archival
Toning
Procedure
for
Black
and
White
Prints
 Edward
Stapel
 
 All
prints
should
be
properly
developed
and
fixed
prior
to
toning.

 
 DISCLAIMER:
For
this
procedure,
we
will
be
using
Kodak
Rapid
Selenium
Toner.

This
 toner
is
toxic.

You
should
wear
gloves
(either
disposable
surgical
gloves
or
dishwashing
 gloves
dedicated
to
toning)
when
handling
prints
in
this
toner.
 
 Selenium
toner
affects
the
print
in
three
ways.

First,
it
will
change
the
image
tone
of
a
 print,
either
subtly
or
dramatically.

Second,
it
will
increase
a
print’s
contrast
by
 deepening
the
tone
of
darker
areas
in
the
image.

And
third,
it
gives
a
print
greater
 permanence
by
making
it
less
susceptible
to
aerial
contaminants.
 
 Experimentation
with
different
papers,
developers,
toner
dilutions,
and
length
of
toning
 time
will
yield
a
variety
of
image
tones.

These
tones
can
vary
from
cool
blue/blacks
to
 warm
reddish/blacks.


 
 For
the
following
procedure
we
will
be
using
a
weak
dilution,
which
will
ensure
archival
 permanence
but
won’t
change
the
image
tone
very
much.

This
dilution
is
1:15
(1
part
 toner
to
15
parts
water)
for
5
minutes
 
 Procedure:
 You
will
need
four
trays
for
this
process:
two
holding
trays
of
water,
one
for
the
toner,
 and
one
for
fixer
remover.
 
 
 Print
Size
 
 
 Liquid
meas.
 
 
 Total
volume
 
 

8x10
 
 
 
2
oz.
Toner
+
30
oz.
Water
 
 



1
qt.
(32
oz.)
 
 
11x14

 
 
4
oz.
Toner
+
60
oz.
Water
 
 



2
qt.
(64
oz.)
 
 
16x20

 
 
8
oz.
Toner

+
120
oz.
Water
 









4
qt
(1
gal
or
128
oz.)
 
 Prints
should
be
toned
for
5
minutes
and
then
placed
in
fixer
remover
for
5
minutes.
 Prints
should
then
be
washed
for
15
minutes
in
the
print
washer.
 
 





Tray
1:
 
 






Tray
2:
 
 








Tray
3:
 
 
 





Tray
4:
 
 
 





Holding
 
 





Selenium
 
 




Fixer
Remover
 
 





Holding
 Tray
 
 
 Toner
 
 
 5
Minutes
 
 
 Tray
 Water
 
 
 1:15
for
 
 
 
 
 
 Water
 
 
 
 





5
Minutes
 
 Prints
should
be
toned
in
batches,
no
more
than
5
or
6
prints
per
batch.

Give
regular
 agitation
and
carefully
shuffle
prints
to
ensure
even
toning.